The red and blue vertical stripes of Barcelona’s home strip are known worldwide and date back over a century. The colours first featured on the shirt in a match against Hispania in 1900, but the origins of the red and blue have been a heavily debated topic over the years.
The son of the first president of the club claimed that it was his father’s desire for the colours to be the same as those of the Merchant Taylor’s School team. However the more popular theory is that Joan Gamper, the founder of the club who hailed from Basel, copied the colours from his local side and used them for Barcelona.
The first kit worn by the club was the classic red and blue shirt with white shorts and black socks. However, the now-seen blue shorts didn’t become a feature at the Camp Nou until the 1920s. When they became part of the kit, the blue socks followed and the home kit has sported the same features ever since.
The home shirt has traditionally featured vertical stripes, with some kits featuring wider stripes, while there have been others that are narrower. There have also been strips which have been split in half, with one side red and the other blue. The 2015/16 season saw the team wear horizontal stripes on their home kit for the only time in their history.
The club have never shied away from wearing some bold colours away from home, with yellow, orange, red, blue and even mint green featuring on shirts over the years, but the home colours are so traditional that they are almost always featured in some way on the change strips.
Up until 2006, Barcelona had avoided putting corporate sponsorship on their shirts; however the club announced a five-year deal with UNICEF that summer which saw the global charity logo imprinted on their shirts. This lasted until 2011 when they signed a five-year, €150 million deal with Qatar Sports Investments, meaning that the Qatar Foundation logo was on their shirt for two seasons, before being replaced by Qatar Airways in 2013. The upcoming season will see Barcelona team up with Rakuten as their main shirt sponsor, with the current deal lasting until 2020.
Having covered the history of the kit and the colours, we’ve picked out a selection from over the years that are vintage Barcelona shirts.
1973/74 Home Kit
Manufacturer: N/A
Trophies won: La Liga
This shirt is synonymous with Johan Cruyff. It was the legendary Dutchman’s first kit at the club that he would eventually go on to revolutionise. This was also the same top that he scored the “impossible goal” in.
Johann Cruyff | Imposibble Goal
Imposibble Goal…
1974/75 Away Kit
Manufacturer: N/A
Trophies won: None
Another strip worn by the legendary Cruyff, this shirt was Barcelona’s best attempt at incorporating their home colours into their away kit.
1991/92 Away Kit
Manufacturer: Meyba
Trophies won: La Liga, Spanish Super Cup, European Cup
This is an absolutely classic kit that is almost as iconic as the home shirt. This shirt will evoke memories of Ronald Koeman thumping home a free kick against Sampdoria in extra time of the European Cup final. Managed by Cruyff, other legendary figures that pulled on this shirt include Hristo Stoichkov, Michael Laudrup and Pep Guardiola.
1999/2000 Centenary Shirt
Manufacturer: Nike
Trophies won: None
The centenary shirt is one of the most sought after, as it was worn by players like Luis Figo, Patrick Kluivert, Rivaldo and Ronald De Boer. The team didn’t win anything that season under Louis van Gaal, but it was still a historic year for the club.
2000/01 Home Shirt
Manufacturer: Nike
Trophies won: None
Barcelona had a poor season in 2000/01, finishing fourth in La Liga and failing to qualify from the group stages of the Champions League. Despite buying Marc Overmars and Emmanuel Petit, in a team which also included Rivaldo, manager Lorenzo Serra Ferrer was sacked in April and replaced by Carles Rexach.
2008/09 Home Shirt
Manufacturer: Nike
Trophies won: La Liga, Copa del Rey, Champions League
This was the first season in which Pep Guardiola was manager and the club went on to win almost everything there was to win. The half-and-half shirt combined with yellow was a nice touch and this shirt will be remembered for the upfront trio of Lionel Messi, Samuel Eto’o and Thierry Henry.
2009/10 Home Shirt
Manufacturer: Nike
Trophies won: La Liga, UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup, Spanish Super Cup
Barcelona were on top of the world at this point, as they went on to win four trophies over the course of the season. Lionel Messi was again their top scorer, while this was also Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s only season at the Camp Nou. The shirt featured the traditional vertical stripes with a thin yellow collar.
2010/11 Home Shirt
Manufacturer: Nike
Trophies won: La Liga, Spanish Super Cup, Champions League
Sir Alex Ferguson described this Barcelona squad as the best he’d ever faced and the home shirt was fairly decent too. It featured the traditional stripes, but with a yellow collar, which added to the shirt. In contrast, the away shirt was mint green with the home colours plastered across the chest. Never again please!
What will they be wearing in the upcoming season?
Manufacturer: Nike
This shirt sacrifices the classic thicker stripes for some thinner vertical red stripes across the middle. The new sponsor refreshes the look, while Nike have declared that this shirt features technology for exceptional breathability and lightweight mobility. It could be confused for a classic Paris St. Germain shirt though.
